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Shkruar nga Tim Ross
If we were to do this, to allow impunity for those crimes, we would be sowing the seeds of the next round of aggression and invasion...
Donald Trump's push to secure peace in Ukraine must not absolve Vladimir Putin of responsibility for war crimes committed by Russian forces, a senior EU official has warned, effectively setting a new red line for a deal.
In an interview with Politico, Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, said negotiators must ensure that the push for a ceasefire does not result in Russia avoiding prosecution.
His comments reflect widespread concerns in European capitals that the original American plan for a deal included the promise of a "full amnesty for actions committed during the war," along with plans to reintegrate Russia into the world economy.
The Trump team's effort to rehabilitate the Kremlin chief comes despite international condemnation of Russia for alleged crimes, including the abduction of 20,000 Ukrainian children and attacks targeting civilians in Bucha, Mariupol and elsewhere.
"I don't think history will judge kindly any attempt to erase the truth about Russian crimes in Ukraine," McGrath said, adding "they must be held accountable for those crimes and that will be the European Union's approach in all these discussions."
“If we were to do that, to allow impunity for those crimes, we would be sowing the seeds of the next round of aggression and the next invasion,” he said, adding, “and I believe that would be a historical mistake of enormous proportions.”
Ukrainian authorities say they have opened investigations into more than 178,000 alleged Russian crimes since the start of the war. Last month, a United Nations commission found that Russian authorities had committed crimes against humanity by targeting Ukrainian residents through drone strikes and the war crimes of forcible transfer and deportation of civilians.
"We cannot give up the rights of the victims of Russian aggression and crimes," McGrath said.
According to him, millions of lives have been taken or destroyed, and people have been forcibly displaced, and we have enough evidence.
The EU and others have been working to set up a new special court for the crime of aggression with the aim of bringing Russian leaders to justice for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
In March 2023, judges at the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, calling him “suspected of being responsible for the war crime of the illegal deportation of the [child] population” from Ukraine.
But Trump and his team have so far shown little interest in prosecuting Putin.
In fact, the US president has consistently described his Russian counterpart in positive terms, often talking about how he is able to have a “good conversation” with Putin. Trump has expressed hope for building new economic and energy partnerships with Russia, and the pair have even discussed hosting ice hockey matches in Russia and the US after the war is over.
The 28-point draft peace plan that Trump's team circulated last week continues in a similar vein.
It states that "Russia will be reintegrated into the global economy" and invited to rejoin the G8 after being expelled in 2014 following Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
"The United States will enter into a long-term economic cooperation agreement for mutual development in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centers, rare earth metal mining projects in the Arctic, and other mutually beneficial corporate opportunities," the document states.
The US peace plan proposes lifting sanctions against Russia in phases, although European leaders have countered by stressing that lifting EU sanctions will be their own matter.
However, not everyone in Europe wants to keep up the pressure on Moscow. Hungary has repeatedly blocked new sanctions, particularly on oil and gas, for which it relies on Russia. Senior politicians in Germany have also floated the idea of lifting sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline. /Adapted from Politico/
Kjo Hungari kurva, film hungarez, e pesos e para shtypjen fashiste ruse e na behet mike tani më ruset. Mirë qeni i pare e vendit, po populli ç’ben, apo hungarez hesapi.